Celebration Center

When the God of the universe was born into the world, it was not in an ivory tower somewhere far from the broken world, but instead, it was right in the middle of a messy stable and a world that needed a Savior. This song reminds us that God is born to each of us, no matter who we are or where we come from.

The announcement given to the shepherds in the field was good news for all people. A Savior was born who would bring peace to a world that was in great need. The shepherds could have ignored the news as it seemed too good to be true, but they went away at once to see for themselves. This song reminds us that this good news is for us today, but will we believe it?

For a Christ follower, living a life connected to Christ is of utmost importance. It’s because of Him and through Him that we can experience abundance, fruitfulness, purpose, and joy. The truth is, as the scripture says, “apart from Him you can do nothing.”

It’s easy to love Jesus. He’s patient, kind, gentle, and lowly. He literally traded His life so that we could experience eternal life and salvation. But obedience is hard. Following the commands of Jesus to love, forgive, and extend mercy is all so difficult. Thankfully He gave us a helper, the Holy Spirit. And thankfully, through the enabling of the Spirit we can enter into the life giving and sacrificial love shared by Jesus and God.

The more you get to know Jesus, the more you understand about the Father, the Spirit, and ultimately the Kingdom of Heaven. In John 14:1-14 we learn; if you really know Jesus then you know some pretty incredible truths about salvation, God the Father, and living an empowered life. Really knowing Jesus is really knowing life.

Some of the baggage we haul around with us gives us anxiety about things out of our control. When we feel anxious, instead of bottling it up and keeping it within us, we should cast it on Jesus and trust Him to handle it.

Many people are unwilling to experience the new things God is trying to do in their lives because of the baggage that keeps them longing for the past. When we wonder, “what if” or “if only,” we rob ourselves of the fresh work of God within us that can take us places we cannot imagine.

Jesus does not just offer us the promise of eternal life one day after we die. He offers us the strength and power to sustain us in the present. In His own words, Jesus tells us that he is a vine and we are the branches. When we remain connected to Him, we receive all of the power and strength necessary to produce wonderful fruit with and through our lives.

The Bible teaches that there is only one way to God and that is through Jesus. Like a door, Jesus is the way we access the grace of God and eternal life available to us. Like any entrance, however, we must receive the invitation and walk through in faith.

We live in a world that is shrouded in darkness. This darkness causes us to stumble around, making mistake after mistake. In order to be able to see things clearly, we need to have light that exposes all of the dangers and temptations around us. In Jesus’ own words we find that he is the only true source of light that can guide us into eternal life now and forever.

The world has always offered its own version of fulfillment and sustenance. But in Jesus’ own words we find that he is the only true source of nourishment and life. When we find ourselves settling for counterfeit versions of fulfillment, we will always find ourselves spiritually hungry.

Prayer is not the least we can do; prayer is the best we can do. May we be quick to respond to the brokenness of our world with targeted prayer and powerful faith. With thankfulness in our hearts that God hears the prayers of His people, we must be quick to bring our concerns to Him.

The world needs genuine followers of Christ who are ready to respond to the injustices in the world. Life comes at us fast, and often we don’t have time to think before we respond. We need to be ready to react from a place of deep faith and strong convictions. Keep an eye out for darkness in the world that is in need of light.

We have an amazing responsibility as followers of Jesus to be quick to share the hope that we have with others. When we have so internalized our love for God, we can respond to others with gentleness and respect, trusting that God will make himself known to them. We must prepare our hearts and live ready to share the hope we have in Christ.

It is easy to get “stuck” in life. We can experience things that so impact our lives that it is hard to move forward. It could be the loss of a loved one, it could be our own failures, it could be someone else’s failure and we just don’t know how to move forward in life, we are stuck. It could even be something that was spectacularly good. We are uncomfortable with the changes and transitions that come in our lives. We want what used to be but since things have changed, now we are stuck. How do we move forward. God has made certain promises and decisions that free us up to move forward in life. We are “Stuck No More”.

The most important aspect of being ready is having a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We do not know when He will return, but one day He will. We must all take an honest assessment of our hearts and lives and ask ourselves if we have placed our faith, hope, and trust in Jesus and the saving work He did on the cross. Once we make this decision, we don’t have to be afraid of anything that might come our way.

In the midst of a 3 year drought, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to ask their gods for rain.  He could see that it was a big ask, and that only a BIG GOD could deliver.  He offered up a mighty prayer to the only one true God in a huge moment, showing us that God is ready and able to rain down blessing on us if we are willing to faithfully make the big ask with the right heart.

Ask anyone and we’ll all answer the same—we want to be free.  But what if the thing that’s chaining us up lives inside our own minds?  In this message we’ll look at Jesus’ heart to free us from worry and explore two shifts in thinking we can make as we accept His invitation to a freedom we would never find on our own.

The Golden Rule, “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” (Matthew 7:12) We all know the rule, but do we really follow that rule? Sometimes we don’t think about what we say, do, or post online, when in reality we should always be making sure that our actions, words, and posts are done with this question in mind... “Would I say this if the person was standing right in front of me, and is what i am saying or doing bringing out the BEST in people?

One way or the other, there comes a moment when you need to cut the rope and take a step or a leap of faith. At the end of our lives, according to psychologist Tom Gilovich, 84% of our regrets will be the things we would have, could have, and should have done but did not do. It’s not the mistakes we made, as painful as that is. It’s the opportunities we miss. Yes, you will experience a few fails, a few falls. But cutting the rope is the way we cut the ribbon on our dreams. We aren’t called to play life safe, we are called to take risks!